Switzerland, which has mandatory health insurance, rejected a proposal to adopt a single payer system on March 11, 2007.[1] 71% of voters opposed it. Switzerland currently has 87 different private health plans.

A single-payer health care system is one in which a single-entity -- the government -- collects almost all of the revenue for and pays almost all of the bills for the health care system. In most single-payer systems only a small percentage of health care expenses are paid for with private funds. Countries that have a single-payer system include Australia, Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom. [2]

Single-payer is popular among the political left in the United States.